Hi Eric, From: Eric Woudenberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > As you note, Sony created the MD format. They are also the MD market > leaders in terms of reputation, product range, and market share. Sony > takes advantage of their position though by charging a premium for > their equipment. I guess this is just normal business practice, but it > does end up that units from other manufacturers often have more > features and cost less. (I will leave the issues of reliablity and > audio quality aside.) I'm not sure I can really agree with that one. I know just because Sony invented Minidisc it doesn't automatically follow they are best, but you can't just dismiss reliability and audio quality. If you did that, then you are almost saying I should have bought an Alba CD player rather than a Marantz one, because the Alba was cheaper and had more features. Sony charge a premium for their products because of their brand name, not because of their market position on MD, it is their brand reputation which gives them the ability to charge more for less. Sharp do the same thing, they have a brand reputation, and so they will charge more because they are putting a value on that reputation. You can say the same about Aiwa, Panasonic, and any other "well known brand" - the very fact their brand name is well known is the very reason they can charge more. If you pay more, you get more. If you paid £10 for an MD player, you wouldn't expect it to last long. If you paid £10'000 for an MD player, you'd expect it to outlive you and probably all your grandchildren too. What you have to decide is, in what proportions you want things. There are various factors which go into making up an MD: Sound Quality, Features and build quality. If you go for a unit that has very few features, but good build quality and average sound, you can expect a unit that will last a long time but probably want updating before it becomes worn out because technology will have advanced. If you go for a unit with lots of features, average sound, but low build quality, you can expect a unit that does everything, sounds good, but doesn't last as long. This is good if you intend to buy a new one when they improve. There are many more combinations too, but the main point of it all is this. You have to decide which you percieve as being more important to you, features, build quality, or sound. You should then pick the unit based on that. > Don't worry, I think there are plenty of Sony supporters in the MD > world. The reviewers are (rightly) just saying that you shouldn't > automatically assume that a Sony unit is the right one for you. Agree with that entirely. :o) Magic -- "Creativity is more a birthright than an acquisition, and the power of sound is wisdom and understanding applied to the power of vibration." Location : Portsmouth, England, UK Homepage : http://www.mattnet.freeserve.co.uk EMail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------------------------------------- To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
